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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — to rip
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. land — to come down
  10. rest — a break
  11. can — to be able to
  12. face — to point toward
  13. clip — for paper
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fine — high quality
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — of a king
  18. rest — what's left
  19. court — of law
  20. face — to confront
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. can — a tin
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com